Teens: Learn to relax and recharge
What is self-care?
Self-care is the practice of taking an active role in your own happiness and well-being. It is like taking care of a really nice car. For example, a Ferrari needs particular oil, unique parts, and specific intervals of maintenance. If you go too long without providing care to your car, it will begin to wear down and eventually stop working. Self-care requires consistency and is special and specific to each person. What restores one person may drain another.
Signs your body is telling you that it needs extra care and support
Your body sends you cues when needing rest, water, food, or some extra care and support. External stressors like moving, family or peer conflict, school demands, high expectations, and feeling unsafe can also cause your body to send these cues. Some of them may influence your behavior, cognitions, emotions, and/or body. Be on the lookout for the following signs:
Physical
- Digestion issues
- Low energy
- Headache
- Trouble sleeping
- Restlessness or feeling tense
Emotional
- Excessive worrying
- Feeling sad for long periods of time
- Irritable, angry, or impatient feelings
- Loneliness
Behavioral
- Isolating from others
- Avoiding places that make you nervous
- Overeating or skipping meals
- Aggression
Cognitive
- Trouble concentrating
- Forgetfulness
- Racing thoughts
How to relax and recharge
There are a few powerful strategies to relax and recharge. Try some of the following to find what works best for you to relieve stress in a healthy way:
- Compassionate self-talk
- Yoga, meditation and conscious breathing
- Practicing gratitude
- Joyful movement
- Spending time in nature
- Healthy self-expression
The benefits of mindfulness
Mindfulness is having an open awareness of our thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and environment while having open curiosity in the moment. A key to mindfulness is the promotion of self-acceptance. Acknowledging your thoughts without judgement and allowing them to ebb and flow helps you stay mindful.
Mindfulness can help to regulate emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, improve mood, enhance self-compassion and create stronger mind-body connections.
Make a plan
Incorporate self-care into your life based on your unique needs. Everyone is different. Here are some tips to help get you started.
- Identify stressors so that you can plan to give yourself some self-care when they come up
- Identify activities, people, and pets who make you feel better and enhance your happiness
- Know your warning signs. These can include:
- Staying in bed all day
- Avoiding family, friends, and loved ones
- Unusual irritability
- Trouble sleeping at night
- Identify your support system – who can help you stay on track? Who can you reach out to when you need a reminder or extra support?
- Prioritize your health and engage in your self-care activities
- Reassess – in order to make sure this new plan is working, check in with yourself. This can be done weekly or monthly.
- Be kind to yourself. New habits can be hard to learn. Practice self-compassion and remind yourself you are doing your best.
